| I don't think you're making selling to government easier, you're making it easier for contractors who are bad at selling to government connect to contractors that are good at selling to government. There are lots of government contracting vehicles. Some lend themselves to large mega corporations, some are specifically set aside for small business. Some reward past performance, some are designed to increase women/minority/veteran owned, disadvantaged location, etc. Different vehicles also have different risk profiles. Some are optimized for speed, some for consistent pricing. Some work better when you have poorly defined requirements, others are used when there is significant risk of completion. Basically a good government CO/COR/TOR will work with their program managers to strategically structure contracts to meet mission needs while also proving best value. If you really want to get good at selling to the government, then you need to understand why something is out out to bid (or not out out to bid as it may be). There are tons of federal contracting classes for COs covering both general FAR rules and agency specific needs. Plus, it depends on what you are hunting for. It could be grants, SIBR, direct contracts, IDIQs, etc. All have different drivers. My suggestion is if you really want to sell to government, find a good federal contracts person, hire them away from the federal government, and have them work bids. Or at least find someone who can explain in detail some of the things I mentioned above. - source: I've been part of a mega corp, been a sub/small business selling to the government and a government program manager responsible for 200M/year in services and equipment. *Edit : that came across harsher than intended. This is still a good idea, but they are helping facilitate b2b sales, not b2g sales. Plus, one of the best ways to learn is to work with someone who has already been successful. |
First answer, we agree the headline is a bit contrived. We’ll blame the 80 character limit :)
This is a very complicated industry as you know. We do make it easier to find opportunities, run analytics on buying trends, manufacturers and customers in a single place that aggregates data that is not just in the public domain. This is a benefit for both the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ contractors. Ultimately, the bid must go through the prime and finding the opportunity you're interested in can bring you to becoming a prime or finding one that already exists. This networking enables a level of efficiency for both the user/organization and the government.